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All Rise...

Chief Justice Michael Stailey is a lazy-ass savant.

The Charge

"If things were easy to find, they wouldn't be worth finding."

Opening Statement

There are two potential hot button issues you need to be aware of going into
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close: Children with special needs, and the
events of 9/11. I have little tolerance for the emotional manipulation and
exploitation of either, so my guard was up before the film even started.
Adapting Jonathan Safran Foer's critically divided novel, screenwriter Eric Roth
(The Curious Case of Benjamin
Button) and director Stephen Daldry (The
Reader) attempt to tell a story of grief from the perspective of someone
ill-equipped to even grasp the concept.

Facts of the Case

Oskar Shell (Thomas Horn) is special child who shares a unique relationship
with his father, Thomas (Tom Hanks). Together they have embarked on many
adventures, the greatest of which is proving the existence of New York's lost
sixth borough. But before this mystery can be solved, the events of September
11, 2001 transpire, and Thomas is lost in the collapse of the World Trade
Center. The Shell family is shattered.

A year later, accidentally breaking a vase while going through his father's
closet, Oskar discovers a key in a small envelope marked "Black." Thus, a new
mystery is born. What was Thomas trying to tell Oskar? What was this a key to,
and what treasure would it unlock? Obsessed with finding answers to these
questions, Oskar embarks on a futile mission: Comb the streets of New York City,
talking with every family with the last name Black, to see if they knew his
father, and what possible significance this key held to them. Keep in mind,
Oskar is only eleven years old and already in a fragile state. What benefits
could this quest provide, and what are the costs if he fails?

The Evidence

Awards season is often awash with emotionally-charged storytelling. Be it
biopics of complex historical figures (The
Iron Lady), epic romanticized period pieces (War Horse), or intense political
conundrums (In the Land of
Blood and Honey); Hollywood loves to challenge audiences as the year draws
to a close. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close fit right in with its
2011 brethren, each drawing its share of critical recognition. But how much of
an impetus behind these films is a story needing to be told, and how much of it
is a studio's need to amass little golden statuettes?

Stephen Daldry's film already had a strike against it, in that the source
material was not well received in its written form. Americans have developed a
thick skin when it comes to 9/11, and don't appreciate having old wounds poked
and prodded for no apparent reason. Add to that a young special needs
protagonist who's forced to carry the majority of the narrative, and your film
begins with its back against the wall, fighting to prove its worth.

"If the sun were to explode, you wouldn't even know about it for eight
minutes because thats how long it takes for light to travel to us. For eight
minutes the world would still be bright and it would still feel warm. It was a
year since my dad died and I could feel my eight minutes with him…were
running out."

It takes a unique individual to raise a special needs child. The autistic
spectrum is vast, and though Oskar's particular condition is never fully
explained, it's clear he's high functioning. Still, Thomas has fully embraced
his son's many challenges and is determined to help him overcome each of them.
This commitment is so deeply engrained in Oskar that even after his father's
passing he continues challenging himself. This is the only reason he gets as far
as he does.

I make this clear not to give away any aspects of the story, but to prepare
you for some truly uncomfortable moments. One of my great fears has long been a
loss of mental faculty, and Daldry does an effective job of putting us in that
position. Oskar knows he's damaged but unable to do anything about it, forced to
ride out these uncomfortable episodes until they pass…and so are we.

With a mother (Sandra Bullock) who is seemingly broken, and a grandmother
(Zoe Caldwell) who cares deeply but is only able to provide moral support, Oskar
is forced to undertake this mission on his own. That is, until a mysterious man
known only as "The Renter" (Max von Sydow) walks into his life. Intrigued by
Oskar's intense passion and many quirks, "The Renter" agrees to tag along and
assist where he can. I say "assist" because this gentleman is a mute who
communicates only through the words "yes" and "no" tattooed on the palms of his
hands and an ever-present notebook in which he can provide more verbose
responses. Together, this odd couple find companionship, a means of working
through their respective issues, and an entirely new appreciation for the city
of New York and its residents.

For as detailed and immersive as production designer KK Barrett (Being John Malkovich) and
cinematographer Chris Menges' (Notes on a Scandal) stage
is—capturing the Big Apple's humanity in a way that's rarely been done
before—the performances are what drive the picture. Thomas Horn is Oskar;
I don't believe you can separate the two. This isn't so much an acting role as
it is performance art. Daldry simply wound this untrained kid up and let him go.
More often than not it works, but the sheer amount of time Horn spends on screen
will try your patience. For those who wondered why Max von Sydow was challenging
Christopher Plummer for an Oscar, it won't take more than three minutes for that
answer to be revealed. Max has a lifetime of memorable performances under his
belt, but this may well be the icing on the cake. For an actor of his age and
stature to pull off a Chaplin-esque performance that rivals Charlie Chaplin
himself is nothing short of awe-inspiring. Extremely Loud and Incredibly
Close needs to be seen just for this albeit too brief role. Viola Davis
(The Help) and Jeffrey Wright (The
Ides of March) shine in small supporting turns, as does Sandra Bullock,
veteran stage actress Zoe Caldwell, and John Goodman as a combative doorman (a
relationship that's never fully explained). But special credit need be given to
Tom Hanks, whose commitment to a role some actors might see as a throwaway
informs more of the film than anyone ever could have anticipated.

I'm being careful not to discuss too much of the story, as Eric Roth's
screenplay is a beautifully layered exercise in human observation. Some of the
reveals are easily discovered, while others are earned and prove quite
surprising. Please understand this is not a casual moviegoing experience. If you
choose to undertake Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, you are agreeing
to invest two hours of your time and at least another hour of brain power
digesting what you have witnessed. You cannot bail on this movie once it starts,
no matter how frustrated or annoyed you may become, because the payoff will only
come to you in the end. This means having to sit through some languishingly
intense emotional sequences and several painfully verbose monologues from Oskar,
all of which inform the story as a whole. Daldry is much like painter Bob Ross,
in that only the finished canvas tells the tale.

Presented in 2.40:1/1080p high definition widescreen, the fidelity of this
Blu-ray transfer is astounding. Having seen a DVD screener well before the home
video release, the level of detail only enhances the experience, to the point
where you can taste, touch, and smell the city and its people. This is not a
glossy, colorful film, but one tinged with sadness in which greens, blues, and
browns reflect a troubled mind and heavy heart. I could not find any obvious
flaws in the encoding, which means there's nothing to distract you from what's
happening on screen. The same holds true for the DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio, a rich
soundscape of the city, from the lush interiors of Central Park to the harsh
streets of midtown at one o'clock in the morning. The track (and the film) also
make tremendous use of an achingly subtle underscore by composer Alexandre
Desplat who is quicky overtaking Thomas Newman as my favorite composer. Dolby
5.1 French and Spanish language tracks are available for those who require them,
as well as English, French, and Spanish subtitles.

The bonus features on this special edition Blu-ray release (a movie-only
version is also available from Warner Bros.) are enough to flesh out a film that
benefits from discussion.

* Making Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (20 min)—This
Daldry-centric featurette finds cast and crew discussing the director, the
material, and the process they all went through to achieve the final film.

* Finding Oskar (8 min)—A Kids Jeopardy contestant enters the
world of acting and filmmaking, molded by the team who gave us Billy
Elliot.

* Ten Years Later (12 min)—Respecting the city, the residents,
and the emotional intensity of those who lived through 9/11 at ground zero.

* Dialogues with The Renter (44 min)—A fly-on-the-wall
documentary following the great Max von Sydow as he prepares, rehearses, and
films his scenes.

* DVD Copy

* Digital Copy

Closing Statement

There are few films that viscerally haunt the dark recesses of my
mind—Coppola's Apocalypse
Now, Bertolucci's The Last
Emperor, Eastwood's Letters from
Iwo Jima, and now Daldry's Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. I'm
certainly not placing the film on equal footing with these classic cinematic
masterworks, but the elements that do work here evoke similarly raw emotions,
ones that can be easily brought to the surface just by thinking about them. This
is not an altogether pleasant way to spend two hours, but I firmly believe you
will be better for having gone through the experience.

The Verdict

Guilty of forcing us to see the world through a very different set of
eyes.

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